DOCUMENTS:
The Opening of the Nicholson Viaduct, 1915 http://explorepahistory.com/odocument.php?docId=199 This is an original document of a newspaper article that appeared in theScrantonTimes on November 8, 1915. It recounts the dedication ceremony of theNicholsonBridge(Tunkhannock Viaduct) and describes the day and the crowds at the ceremony. It also indicates the dignitaries in attendance.
Harpers Weekly http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=November&Date=25 This political cartoon depicts the corruption involved with the Railroad Industry at the turn of the century. It also includes President Roosevelt and the Republican Party attempting to curb the power of the industry using forceful measures i.e. legislation.
Political Cartoons: Images of the Railroad http://sophia.smith.edu/~maldrich/introduction.html This site depicts railroads in different walks of life. The political cartoons show the railroad in terms of transportation, advances in technology, business and corruption and power. They also depict the struggle between railroad operators and the emergence of unions.
Both of these websites provide photographs that detail the construction of the Tunkhannock Viaduct, from the onset to its completion. Great detail is shown on the construction that took place over the course of three year.
The 4 selections of sheet music I have chosen can be used within my project to show the excitement of trains in America, the struggles and conditions of the railroad industries workers and the sheet music lyrics also can be used to discuss immigration in the United States. The last selection can be used to discuss the corruption within the railroad industry and society’s reaction to it in terms of the growth of labor unions and labor laws.
AUDIO RECORDINGS: 2 versions of Casey Jones http://www.last.fm/music/Grateful+Dead/_/Casey+Jones http://ia311536.us.archive.org/2/items/AmericanQuartetWithBillyMurray/AmericanQuartetWithBillyMurray-CaseyJones1910StereoRemake.mp3
While the song from the Grateful Dead about Casey Jones is not a primary source document, many of my students are familiar with it. The song does speak about a railroad conductor and his experiences riding the rails. After listening to a portion of the Grateful Dead’s version, I would then play the second source for my students. This version of Casey Jones was recorded in 1910 and relates to the sheet music I also plan on using. Both selections, once again would be used to discuss the life of employees in the railroad industry, even locally, as the trains pass over the Tunkhannock Viaduct today and in 1915 when it was constructed.
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/map/erie-1939map.gif
the maps above from fallenflags.org pertain to not only Wyoming County but also show in great detail how the railroad lines connected to Scranton, Pa as well as other locations in PA, NJ, NY and NYC. These maps cover different eras of the railroad system.
I opted to go with all maps for this section of primary sources. These are the most valuable local resources I will have within my final project. These maps show the entire state of Pennsylvania but also show the local railroad routes of Wyoming County and nearby counties such as Lackawanna and Luzerne. Students are also very familiar with Wilkes Barre and Scranton. I believe the maps are valuable tools to use in terms of state and local history pertaining to the Pennsylvania transportation system. I am excited to have found them; it really fills in what I believed to be a missing gap in terms of local online resources for my project.
DOCUMENTS:
The Opening of the Nicholson Viaduct, 1915
http://explorepahistory.com/odocument.php?docId=199
This is an original document of a newspaper article that appeared in the Scranton Times on November 8, 1915. It recounts the dedication ceremony of the Nicholson Bridge (Tunkhannock Viaduct) and describes the day and the crowds at the ceremony. It also indicates the dignitaries in attendance.
DATA:
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=pphhdatapage&fileName=pa/pa1600/pa1629/data/hhdatapage.db&title2=Erie-Lackawanna%20Railroad,%20Tunkhannock%20Viaduct,%20Nicholson,%20Wyoming%20County,%20PA&recNum=0&itemLink=r?pp/PPALL:@field(NUMBER+@(pa1629
This site provides data about the Tunkhannock Viaduct including height, amount of steel, concrete and cement used and historic milestones of the bridge itself.
Second Pan-American Scientific Congress 1917
http://books.google.com/books?id=05BRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA166&dq=concrete+bridges+1915+nicholson+bridge&ei=_dI-Sv9-m-LKBI-FwboF
This is an excerpt from an engineering journal providing data and historical value of the Nicholson Bridge(Tunkhannock Viaduct). The journal was published in 1917
POLITICAL CARTOONS:
Harpers Weekly
http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=November&Date=25
This political cartoon depicts the corruption involved with the Railroad Industry at the turn of the century. It also includes President Roosevelt and the Republican Party attempting to curb the power of the industry using forceful measures i.e. legislation.
Political Cartoons: Images of the Railroad
http://sophia.smith.edu/~maldrich/introduction.html
This site depicts railroads in different walks of life. The political cartoons show the railroad in terms of transportation, advances in technology, business and corruption and power. They also depict the struggle between railroad operators and the emergence of unions.
PHOTOGRAPHS:
Tunkhannock Viaduct “Nicholson Bridge”
http://www.historicbridges.org/pennsylvania/tunkhannock/photos.htm
Northeast Rails
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/scranton1.html
Both of these websites provide photographs that detail the construction of the Tunkhannock Viaduct, from the onset to its completion. Great detail is shown on the construction that took place over the course of three year.
POSTERS:
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess.T3261/pg.1/
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess.T2469/pg.1/
http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=/getposter.asp&APNum=3549851&CID=3EE01A7789C949CFA017598F71D4CB32&PPID=1&search=1097&f=c&FindID=1097&P=1&PP=118&sortby=PD&cname=Train&SearchID
These 3 websites contain posters of railroads. One pertains to the railroad industry in Pennsylvania, the other references the impact of railroads during World War 2 and the third is a poster of a locomotive.
SHEET MUSIC
The “Katy Flyer”
https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/3774/058.030.000.webimage.JPEG?sequence=9
This selection was composed by Mary Edna Hupp in 1904. It basically captures the essence of traveling on trains or hearing the train’s whistle at a stop or bridge.
Casey Jones - The Brave Engineer
https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/27017/057.048.000.webimage.JPEG?sequence=7
This selection is about a railroad engineer. The lyrics describe his trials and tribulations as well as give details about the train he drives.
Who Shouted Blast
https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/17184/059.150.000.webimage.JPEG?sequence=9
This primary source document is about construction of the railroad. The lyrics talk about the use of dynamite and also describe the different ethnic groups who worked the railroads such as the Irish and the Italians.
The Three Last Seats for Smokers
https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/19269/061.119.000.webimage.JPEG?sequence=9
This song is about greed and corruption and deceit within the railroad industry. It compares a worker riding the train to the rich and famous industrialists sitting in the back discussing their exploits while smoking their cigars.
The 4 selections of sheet music I have chosen can be used within my project to show the excitement of trains in America, the struggles and conditions of the railroad industries workers and the sheet music lyrics also can be used to discuss immigration in the United States. The last selection can be used to discuss the corruption within the railroad industry and society’s reaction to it in terms of the growth of labor unions and labor laws.
AUDIO RECORDINGS:
2 versions of Casey Jones
http://www.last.fm/music/Grateful+Dead/_/Casey+Jones
http://ia311536.us.archive.org/2/items/AmericanQuartetWithBillyMurray/AmericanQuartetWithBillyMurray-CaseyJones1910StereoRemake.mp3
While the song from the Grateful Dead about Casey Jones is not a primary source document, many of my students are familiar with it. The song does speak about a railroad conductor and his experiences riding the rails. After listening to a portion of the Grateful Dead’s version, I would then play the second source for my students. This version of Casey Jones was recorded in 1910 and relates to the sheet music I also plan on using. Both selections, once again would be used to discuss the life of employees in the railroad industry, even locally, as the trains pass over the Tunkhannock Viaduct today and in 1915 when it was constructed.
MAPS:
http://menotomymaps.com/map_img.asp?p=map_fdbdown.asp?72&mak=1886_Pennsylvania_rail_map
This is an 1886 railroad map covering the Northeastern half of Pennsylvania, especially Wyoming County where the construction of the Tunkhannock Viaduct would eventually begin.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~palackaw/maps/Lackawanna1912.jpg
This is a 1912 railroad map covering Northeastern Pa and Wyoming County.
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/map/1882-map.jpg
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/map/erie-east-1914.gif
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/map/dlw-map-scra.gif
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/map/erie-1939map.gif
the maps above from fallenflags.org pertain to not only Wyoming County but also show in great detail how the railroad lines connected to Scranton, Pa as well as other locations in PA, NJ, NY and NYC. These maps cover different eras of the railroad system.
I opted to go with all maps for this section of primary sources. These are the most valuable local resources I will have within my final project. These maps show the entire state of Pennsylvania but also show the local railroad routes of Wyoming County and nearby counties such as Lackawanna and Luzerne. Students are also very familiar with Wilkes Barre and Scranton. I believe the maps are valuable tools to use in terms of state and local history pertaining to the Pennsylvania transportation system. I am excited to have found them; it really fills in what I believed to be a missing gap in terms of local online resources for my project.